By Mohamed Massaquoi
Commercial transport drivers in Pujehun, southern Sierra Leone, have suspended a sit-down strike in protest over what they say is the poor road network in the district. They are to meet with district stakeholders on Monday with their two-point demand or resume their strike.
Owing to the poor road network in this opposition heartland, the drivers want to increase transport fares to Bo from Le 20,000 to Le 25,000 and add an extra passenger to the three which cars are allowed in the back seat.
The drivers, under the auspices of the local chapter of the Sierra Leone Drivers’ Union, are unhappy at the delay in ongoing road construction projects in the district.
They accuse the Nigerian firm, First Tricon of deliberately stalling construction work. The company is contracted to do the Pujehun town road and the 16-mile distance to Bandajuma, linking it to Bo.
The strike paralysed the district as many intending travellers were left stranded.
The Government has suspended all domestically-financed road projects as part of an austerity measure declared some two weeks ago. There is concern that Pujehun, which is in dire need of hood roads, may be the first district to have fallen victim of the economic measures.
Pujehun District Authorities, in response to the drivers' strike action, convened an emergency meeting on Thursday.
Sadiq Silla, district council chairman, accused First Tricon of reneging on its side of the contract. Addressing the meeting, he warned the company not to use the austerity measures as an excuse to delay the project and cause suffering for his people. He stressed that his central focus was to ensure the people use a well-constructed road soon.
Present at the meeting held at the office of the council chairman were representatives of the Office of National Security and the police.
Thursday's meeting at the council was preceded by an inspection tour of the work site.
Consultant Engineer, James Gbonda, told the tour party that two areas of the road with potential to lead to a cutoff had been identified and that their men were working on them.
"From observations the road is full of pot holes and it is not the responsibility of the company to do maintenance simply because it was never part of the contract,’’ he said.
He said that government did not make any provision in awarding the contract with regards to maintenance cost and that they were faced with a lot of other challenges.
Gbonda went on to say that the government would not be able to embark on any major operation on the road until the first week of November, citing difficulties posed by the rains.
The company started working on the said road since late 2013.
Engineer Paul Okhuakhua, who identified himself as contractor of the road project, partly blamed the nature of the Bandajuma bridge for the delay.
"We were afraid of bringing in most of our machines to do the work because the bridge at Bandajuma Sowa is not strong enough for the heavy weight of the machinery" he explained. He urged the entire Pujehun district to exercise patience.
The Chairman of Motor Drivers’ Union in Pujehun district, Maada Beveh Massaquoi told Politico that they were concerned about the poor condition of the road.
"The reason for our strike is based on the bad road network which has created a lot of mechanical problems on our vehicles," he said. Massaquoi said they were planning a meeting during which they would discuss proposals to increase transport fares.
”This is the only alternative if we are to continue serving the people of Pujehun or else we will stop going to the district," he warned.
He explained that for every trip to Pujehun a visit to the garage was of an extreme necessity, and that most of their vehicles were not owned by the drivers themselves.
The union boss also said he'd negotiated for vehicle owners to reduce their daily amount of money required from the drivers until the situation was addressed.
Meanwhile, traders in the district have pleaded with the Drivers’ Union to halt the strike, citing the effect it was having on their businesses.
The Secretary of the Sierra Leone Traders’ Union in Pujehun, Alhaji Conteh, says some their businesses are in Bo, a town they must also visit regularly to replenish their stocks.
Photo: A section of the Pujehun - Bandajuma highway
Copyright (c) Politico 2016
